Yvonne M Gapinski

March 24, 1934 - February 4, 2022

Yvonne Gapinski, age 87, passed peacefully on Friday, February 4th, 2022 at her home in Lake Villa, Illinois. Yvonne was born to John and Mary Ahles of St. Cloud, Minnesota on March 24th, 1934. Her siblings include Alred (Mary) Ahles, Celestine (George) Pappenfus, Marcella Ahles, Timothy (Joyce) Ahles, & Roland (Julie) Ahles. While working at the telephone company, she was introduced to the love of her life, Sylvester Gapinski. On August 25, 1955, Sy & Yvonne married in Minnesota before briefly living in Texas, eventually settling in Illinois to raise their family. Together they raised eight children, four girls & four boys. After having seven kids in 11 years, God granted them a 10 year break before blessing them with child # 8. They are Judy (Bruce) Gyllin, Susan (Robin) Liddell, Calvin (Jeannie) Gapinski, Carol (Richard) Jackson, Ken (Susan) Gapinski, Karl (Jenny) Gapinski, Mark Gapinski, & Kathleen (Jason) Peters. She had 16 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Yvonne had a firm open door policy where family & friends could always be seen sitting at the kitchen table. Yvonne had a knack for being able to feed an undetermined amount of people at a moment’s notice. A full house was a happy house. Yvonne thrived on company & visits. The ultimate sustainable woman, Yvonne reused, repurposed, and only if the first two failed, did she recycle. Alongside Sy, she kept a huge garden, feeding her family fresh foods during the summer & preserving canned goods for later. Feeding squirrels and watching birds kept her entertained once she became an empty nester. Her home had big picture windows & she surrounded her kitchen view with feeders. We wonder if the squirrels reminded her of her kids. Always doing something crazy! Yvonne liked to keep her hands busy. In addition to commanding the household, Yvonne liked to paint ceramics, crafting miniature flowers for dollhouses & quilting. She was a magnificent seamstress making clothes for her family & mending for all. If you came into the house with a rip, she would have the needle and thread out before you could blink! In her later years, Yvonne had a passion for crocheting pot holders. Her favorite baby shower gift was a homemade baby blanket. She shared her talents with all whom she met. Since 1963, Yvonne has been a devoted member of Prince of Peace Church in Lake Villa. For years she vacuumed the parish, straightened the Gather books before Sunday mass, prepared school lunches and volunteered on bingo nights. She loved joining the Senior Club for lunches. Yvonne (Wife, Sister, Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Aunt & Friend) you are much loved & will be much missed. As we pass by your kitchen window, we’ll be sure to wave. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, from 3:00-7:00 pm at Ringa Funeral Home 122 S Milwaukee Ave. Lake Villa, IL. Additional visitation will take place on Thursday, February 10, 2022, from 9 - 10 am at Prince of Peace Church 135 S. Milwaukee Ave with mass starting at 10:00 am. Mass will be live-streamed at facebook.com/RingaFH. Burial will follow at Willow Lawn Cemetery in Vernon Hills, IL.